Maria Fowler quits TOWIE ‘to pursue exciting new projects’

Maria Fowler has quit The Only Way is Essex, with the TOWIE star choosing to not return in series four of the ITV2 show and instead embark on ‘exciting projects both personal and professional’.

Maria Fowler will leave TOWIE after three series (Picture: XposurePhotos.com)

The glamour-model-turned-reality-star confirmed the news on Twitter, saying: ‘I would like to be the first to announce… After a rollercoaster year and after meeting with producers today we have decided that my time on TOWIE has come to an end.

‘I am happy to be leaving the show on a high after 3 series and feel I am embarking on a new chapter in my life with exciting projects both personal and professional.’

Fowler, who has been romantically linked to celebrities including Jack Tweed and Aston Merrygold , was best known in TOWIE for an on-off relationship with Mick Norcross, a nightclub promoter more than twenty years her elder.

She added: ‘Thank you for all your support during my time on the show and I hope to continue to keep you all entertained throughout 2012!!’

Maria is only the latest cast member to leave the Essex-based reality show however.

Amy Childs was the first to jump ship, heading to Channel 5 to appear on Celebrity Big Brother and star in her own programme It’s All About Amy.

Kirk Norcross, currently appearing in the 2012 series of CBB, followed suit, while the show’s protagonist Mark Wright quit to compete in I’m A Celebrityâ¦Get Me Out of Here! and present Take Me Out sister show The Gossip.

TOWIE bosses will now search for new Essex socialites to join the cast ahead of a new series that is to air later this year.